Who Referred you?

What an epic days fishing at Chatfield with my friends, Ron and Bob. Both landed their new PB common carp, Ron with a 24 lb'er and Bob with a 22.5 lb'er. I added a few more to our days tally including a nice mirror towards the end of the session.
Hope you Enjoy !

Colorado 2017 - Master Angler Awards and year end report.
The "Highs"
2017 was a challenging year for carp fishing here in Colorado. Old venues that produced consistently were tough challenges for the majority of anglers. It was a wet and cooler year, windy, though we did not experience the crazy flooding we saw back in 2016. Late spring and summer produced the best catch rates and larger fish on average. MA stats dwindled somewhat, with 21 commons being reported (compared to 41 in 2015). However there was an uptick in grass carp catches and reports, 20 fish logged, albeit two anglers caught nearly all of them from the same private water (compared to 5 in 2015). The increase in grass carp catches could be a result of stocking programs for pond cleanup and weed/algae removal. I usually only submit a couple of fish per year to this program (common and grass carp), else the stats/page would be a wee bit skewed. I did manage to equal the best common of the year and topped the grass carp list; though my fish was not officially submitted within the time limits; out of respect for the angler whom invited me to fish that lake.
Fly carping remains the showcase for carp in our state. A strong contingent of fly anglers target these fish year long and the "Trout Unlimited" Carp Slam event on the South Platte river for charity remains popular (albeit very expensive entrance fees and requirements).
The gold medal consistent water for carp in Colorado remains "Chatfield Reservoir". This venue holds carp in excess of 30 lb's, both mirrors and commons. It faces substantial angling pressure and recreational activity. CPW patrol on a regular basis and are very "watchful" of all behaviors of carp anglers, especially from afar with their binoculars!
Tightline Outdoors, a local outfitter, hosted 2 Catch & Release Carp Tournaments during 2017. Attendance peaked at just over 30 anglers. For Team CarpQuest I managed to WIN the day/night event at Chatfield Reservoir with my partner James. For me, it was a huge highlight, my 6th tournament entered and 1st individual win. Team CarpQuest also won the 2016 day/night tournament, this time James taking 1st with me as his partner. It would appear Team CarpQuest fishes well in the blackness of night. The tournament at Lake Arbor was won by a new angler to carp fishing, Bleu Patino and his partner Ryan Quist; I had previously met Ryan and Bleu a month before to provide some encouragement and advice on carp fishing tackle & tactics. They certainly learned fast!
CAG membership wise, we remain steady at "2" We lost a member in 2017 and gained a new one. The challenges we face with regards to CPWs view of the sport, the tactics and the species as a whole, present a serious uphill climb here in Colorado. Next to Utah, Colorado is arguably 2nd on the list of carp hating states. Oh well !
The "Low's"
Whilst 2017 saw an increase in the local anglers targeting carp, this also brought increased attention from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Many angers were being "enthusiastic" about their use of packbaits, especially with regards to Colorado laws requiring the bait be attached and with packbaits, inside of the pack. This resulted in numerous tickets being issued to anglers. Though CPW realizes carp angling is becoming popular here; they are still no fans of the species. Individual wildlife officers can be openly negative. Bow Fishing for carp continues at all venues where shooting is legal; however their endeavors are rarely posted in a social media context; all but driven underground here locally. Catch & Release has become the new "trendy" behavior for Trophy fish of all species.
On a personal note, my own carp fishing adventures during 2017 were seriously curtailed (my trips out were reduced by 75%); mainly due to personal health and family reasons. I am hopeful 2018 will be a great new year with some excellent carp fishing during the season.
Closing
2018 is set to be another great year here for carp fishing in Colorado. With the mild winter there should be an early ice-off and a great season ahead. Colorado has stunning wild carp, both commons and mirrors, with many venues holding 20s and some with a very rare 30s. Our fish are typically slender and powerful fighters. If you are looking for an opportunity to wet your line and hold a stunning wild mile-high carp in your hands, then Colorado should be on your list of places to visit.
By all means drop me a PM, or message if you are looking to come to Colorado to fish for carp, I can certainly provide assistance, local information and advice, especially with regards to our draconian regulations with regards to bait use.

I've noticed when people sometimes try to fish for perch, bluegill, walleye, etc. on the great lakes, as soon as their bait hits the bottom they are bombarded by gobies. I feel like they would eat all of your chum and your hookbait unless it was a large pop up or something. Anyone who has carp fished in goby infested waters such as the great lakes, do you know if gobies are a nuisance when carp fishing?

Carp fishing in fall can be both challenging and very rewarding. In this weeks new episode of CarpQuest we fish an afternoon session at the fairgrounds and land several great looking common carp. I also discuss the important difference between "Victory Coffee" and "Proactive Victory Coffee". One tastes better than the other, but both will do in a pinch.
Hope you enjoy !

Well, it's been a long tough fall, the victory coffee could not keep me from being sick for a month and out of work. Finally back on my feet and found the time to put together a new episode of CarpQuest. So, it's time to break out your java, heat up the water, grab a huge mug, sit back and enjoy our latest episode.
In this session I travel up to northern Colorado and fished with two anglers new to carp fishing, Ryan and Bleu. It's one of the things I love about CarpQuest, the opportunity it provides me to meet so many passionate anglers. It was a great day, good conversation, lots of commons in the net and finally a new PB grass carp for me landed. What an amazing session.
Both Ryan and Bleu continued with their carp fishing, with Bleu winning the TLO Carp Tournament at the end of this year, and Ryan placing in the previous one. What a great couple of guys, passionate and dedicated to their fishing.
Hope you enjoy !
John
CarpQuest

With only a few day's to go until Colorado's final carp tournament of the year, at Lake Arbor, 1st Oct it's time to sit back, drink some java and enjoy our latest episode of CarpQuest. A great day's carp fishing on the banks of a favorite venue with friends. Andrew lands a handful on his Nash Sawn Off Scope's, myself and James each land a fish before a strong thunderstorm moved in and we had to depart of the day.
Hope you enjoy !
John

Just in time for the eclipse, before the world's end, it's time to refill your mug, put up your feet, sit back and enjoy our latest episode !
A busy work schedule had too long kept me from the water. Finally we managed to get out and put in a couple of sessions at the Fairgrounds. With the clear skies, burning temperatures, it was always going to be tough fishing. Yet we stuck it out and managed to land a few nice fish.
Victory Coffee, tastes as good ever !
Hope you Enjoy !
John

Well, it's not been too long, your coffee pot is likely still warm, so sit back, pour yourself a hot mug of java and enjoy our latest episode.
With our recent success fishing overnight we returned to Chatfield for another session. Over confident from our previous trip we setup in the rain and wind, anticipating many catches. A few catfish graced the net, including a big fat channel cat. We did land some baby carp and finally a few nice low doubles. Tough night, but still fun.
Victory Coffee is not just for carp, any great catch is worthy of a mug!
Hope you enjoy !
Tight-Lines,
John
CarpQuest

Well carp fans, it's been way too long with the mug sat empty. So it's time once again to put on the coffee pot, rinse off the mug and prepare to watch another episode.
In this week’s new episode of CarpQuest we fish an overnight session at Chatfield Reservoir. With daytime temps pushing 100F, the bite slow, this could be our best change to get some fish on the mat.
Hope you enjoy !
John
CarpQuest

Well carp fans, though it's been a while, hopefully the wait will be worth it. Time to grab a bucket of coffee sit back and enjoy our latest episode, a single cup just won't be enough !
In this week’s episode of CarpQuest we only had time for a very short afternoon session. Aided by a Deeper Smart Sonar Plus we quickly found the fish. The next four hours were incredible, with a dozen carp landed, including four twenties, five mirror carp and a new PB mirror carp for me.
Hope you enjoy !

Our first full session of the new season takes us back to Adams County Fairgrounds in Colorado.
With only a few fish showing I made the switch to Nashbaits The Key and was rewarded with my first carp of the year.
Much victory coffee was consumed.
Hope you enjoy the session !
Tight-Lines,
John
CarpQuest

HERE WE GO AGAIN ! Season 5 is off and running ...
Get your coffee cups out (this is a two cup session), fill with hot java, and sit back and watch the show !
In this weeks opening episode of CarpQuest Season 5, we look back at the great time I spent with my brother when he visited last summer. We had some excellent carp fishing adventures, a dawn sunrise at the top of Pikes Peak and some night photography.
We hope you enjoy!
Tight-Lines,
John
CarpQuest

In this weeks episode we get in a late fall session with Jeremy Romero from Born to Fish Media.
Our mission for the day, to see if we could help him catch a few late fall fish, always a challenging time for carp fishing here in Colorado.
Hope you Enjoy!
Tight-Lines,
John

In this weeks new episode of CarpQuest a short session at a favorite venue produced a huge surprise capture, a new PB grass carp for me. Yet this capture was bitter sweet. A few months later the lake was all but totally drained to repair an inlet. As the lake was being refilled a local angler spotted the corpses of a dozen or more big carp in the shallows. Such a sad end to so many beautiful fish that had called this water home for over a decade.
Before the work commenced some of the lakes inhabitants, hopefully including a few of the big carp, were relocated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife to another lake in the city. We were only aware of a pod of around 30 or so carp that once lived here.
We will return to the lake in Spring of 2017 to see if even just a couple of these majestic fish may have survived.
Nature is always full of surprises !
Hope you enjoy.
John

It's been many weeks since I had some free time. Always work, or another household project, to get done before video editing. As we approach the holidays, I was finally able to get down infront of the computer and finish up a CarpQuest session video. Still got a couple of video's left to edit, there is hope I may be able to get them done before years end !
So, in this weeks new episode we fish the Fairgrounds on Labor Day. Joined by Andrew and James, it turned out to be a great hot summer session. The carp were heads down and feeding as we landed over a dozen fish !
Hope you enjoy.

Each year the Carp Anglers Group puts on an event to "Take a Kid Carping". I truly believe that the youth of today are the anglers of tomorrow. Helping them get started when they are young, teaching them the basics, not just in techniques but also covering topics such as angling etiquette, pickup up their trash and consideration for others, conservation and the environment.
No matter how busy my schedule, work, or otherwise, I always make the time each year to Take a Kid Carping !
This year I decided to take James's 10 yr old daughter Olivia, out on a session to Chatfield Reservoir, Kingfisher. Olivia has been fishing for carp for a couple of years at local venues. She really wanted a chance to catch a "big" carp. Her personal best stood at 6 lb's, a 24" common carp from Quail Lake in Colorado Springs.
So, that was the CarpQuest. Could we help Olivia catch a big carp ?
Within an hour of setting up, her rod went screaming off with a blistering run. With a "little" help from James to get the fish initially under control, she steered the fish expertly into the net.
A minute later it was in the cradle and her hands.
A glorious 30.5", 16 lb 2 oz common carp. Olivia had not only caught her first ever Colorado Master Angler carp but she had also landed her new Personal Best - Fins-UP !
It was Job Done. Much victory coffee for James and I, alas Olivia's a wee bit too young for the coffee.
A CarpQuest video of this session will be released later this year along with a full "in-session" write-up.
Tight-Lines,
John

Hello folks. Saturday, September 10th 2016 marks the first annual Carp, Trout and Salmon derby for "Lure for a Cure". This is a charity fishing event with prizes, food and drink. I am the secretary for the Genesee Charter Boat Association here in Rochester NY. I am an avid carp angler and would love to make this event bigger and better every year. We have FishUSA and Northport Nailers as sponsors this year.
The basics: Prizes for largest carp, trout and salmon along with the smallest in each category. Fishing is on and offshore of the Genesee River. The main swims are The Summerville Pier located at Silk O'Loughlin's http://www.silkoloughlins.com/ The fish will be carefully weighed in slings and released. This swim is very productive and has not been fished much at all over the past weeks. My biggest of this swim was a beauty 32 lber caught on hemp soaked feed corn. Anise is a favorite on this swim too.
Weigh in's begin at 6 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Food, drink, raffles etc will taking place all day. This is a charity for The American Cancer Society.
I'm not sure if I posted this in the right spot, and I am eager to contribute positively as much as I can. Truly, Captain Larry Hammond
Lure For A Cure Updated.pdf